Fantasmic! is moving to an 8:30 p.m. start at Disney's Hollywood Studios beginning Sunday, August 23. The current 9 p.m. showtime is done after Saturday, and the select-night 10:30 p.m. second show is changing too.
Starting August 23, the first show is 8:30 p.m. every night. Fridays, Sundays, and Tuesdays get a second show at 10 p.m. That half hour is going to sneak up on people with late dinner plans. Hollywood Studios can still feel wide open at 8 p.m., then suddenly Sunset Boulevard is moving in one direction.
Key details
- New nightly start: 8:30 p.m., beginning August 23
- Second show: 10 p.m. on Fridays, Sundays, and Tuesdays
- Current schedule: 9 p.m. nightly, with select 10:30 p.m. second shows through August 22
- Check My Disney Experience on the day of the visit
The 10 p.m. show is the detail we'd actually keep in mind. On Friday, Sunday, and Tuesday, it gives late dinner reservations a little breathing room. On the other four nights, there is no later listed backup.
That does not mean the whole evening needs to become a military operation. It just means a 7:45 p.m. dinner is suddenly a real choice, not an easy pre-show plan. A table farther away, a slow check, and a kid who needs a restroom stop can turn “we have plenty of time” into a jog.
Hollywood Studios has never been a park where nighttime plans stay perfectly tidy. That is part of the charm. There are lights in Toy Story Land, a cantina reservation that ran long, and somebody in the group who suddenly remembers they still want to ride Tower of Terror. The schedule change just makes the clock a little more important.
If August 23 or later is on the calendar, save 8:30 p.m. as the default Fantasmic! time. Then let the 10 p.m. performance be the nice extra on Friday, Sunday, and Tuesday.